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The cover is one page. The continuation is the long sheet under it. You tap the edge of the cover sheet with your pen, checking that the pay period dates match the field log you submitted last week. The stack of pages in front of you holds every line item for work completed, material deliveries, and stored materials at the job site this cycle. A half-empty coffee mug sits to your right, steam curling soft enough that it doesn’t smudge the printed ink on either document.
Map core cover sheet fields first
You start by pulling the high-level values that appear only on the cover sheet, as these act as the anchor for every line on the continuation sheet. These fields include the project name, job number, pay period start and end dates, your company’s tax ID, and the total requested amount for this draw. You cross each entry off with a small check mark as you confirm it matches the pre-approved schedule of values you submitted at the start of the project. Even minor mismatches here, like a transposed digit in the job number, can send the entire pay request to the wrong review queue, so you take extra time to confirm these core fields are correct before moving to the continuation sheet.
Cross-reference continuation sheet line item values
You work top to bottom through the continuation sheet, matching each line item to the corresponding cost code listed on the cover sheet’s summary of work categories. Follow this sequence to align every entry correctly:
- Match each cost code on the continuation sheet to the matching line on the cover sheet’s value summary, confirming that no codes are duplicated or listed out of order.
- Add up the completed work value for each cost code across all continuation sheet pages, then compare that sum to the completed work value listed for that code on the cover sheet.
- Tally the stored materials value for each cost code, cross-referencing with delivery receipts you have on file, then confirm that total matches the stored materials value listed for that code on the cover sheet.
- Sum all completed work and stored materials values across the entire continuation sheet, then compare that grand total to the total draw request amount listed on the front of the cover sheet.
Illustrative example: If the cover sheet lists $142,780 as the total draw request, the sum of all line items across the continuation sheet must match that figure exactly, down to the cent, before you move forward with any further review. Draw Jacket auto-pulls matching cost code values from your schedule of values to cut down on these mismatches, but you still run a manual check to confirm no data was pulled incorrectly during import.
Flag discrepancies between the two documents
Any mismatch between values on the cover and continuation sheet gets a bright pink sticky note, placed so the edge sticks out from the side of the stack so you can find it quickly later. Common mismatches include transposed numbers for a single cost code, a line item added to the continuation sheet that does not appear on the cover sheet’s summary, or a stored materials value listed on the cover that has no corresponding entry on the continuation sheet. You note the root of each discrepancy on the sticky note, so you don’t have to retrace your work when you make corrections. If you use a digital tool to compile these documents, you can leave a comment embedded at the mismatched line instead of a physical note. You address all discrepancies before adding any supporting context to the documents, as a single mismatched value can throw off the entire draw request sum.
Add supporting annotation to aligned entries
Once all values match between the two documents, you add small notes next to any line item that requires extra context for the party reviewing the pay request. For example, you note that the higher completed work value for the concrete framing cost code comes from finishing the third floor slab two days ahead of schedule, or that the stored materials entry for exterior siding corresponds to a delivery that arrived two days before the end of the pay period. These annotations eliminate unnecessary follow-up questions during the review process, cutting down on the time between submission and processing of the draw. You only add annotations to line items that fall outside of the expected progress outlined in the original schedule of values, so you don’t clutter the documents with redundant information. Each annotation is short, specific, and references supporting documentation that you include in the draw request folder.
Pause before final submission of this pay request
You set your pen down next to the stack of documents, and close the folder holding all supporting receipts and progress photos for this draw. You’re done with this review pass, and you don’t make any additional changes to the documents right now, even if you think you spot a small error out of the corner of your eye. Stepping away for at least an hour lets you come back to the documents with fresh eyes, so you catch any small mistakes you might have missed during this first pass. You move the folder to the top of your “to finalize” pile, so you don’t mix it up with other project paperwork sitting on your desk. You grab your coffee mug and stand up to stretch, leaving the work for now instead of pushing through to submit immediately.
Reference this comparison when you revisit the pay request after review
When you pull this stack of documents back out, either for your second review pass or to address notes sent back from the reviewing party, you start by referencing the checks and flags you added during this work session. You first confirm that all the values you aligned earlier still match, to make sure no edits were made accidentally while the folder was stored. If you are addressing review notes, you cross-reference any requested changes to both the cover sheet and the continuation sheet, so you don’t update one document without making the matching change to the other. For example, if the reviewing party adjusts the approved value for the electrical rough-in cost code, you update that value on both the cover sheet summary and the corresponding line item on the continuation sheet, then re-run the total sum check to confirm all values still align across both documents. You add a new annotation next to any changed line item, noting the date of the change and the name of the party that requested it, so you have a clear paper trail for every adjustment made to the pay request before final submission.
